ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It was an image that got the nation talking : Two giggling young women in oversized sunglasses robbing a bank . The `` Barbie Bandits '' helped their hometown earn the dubious distinction as the nation 's bank robbery capital .

Here one of the so-called `` Barbie Bandits '' is captured on surveillance video at a surburban Atlanta bank .

Atlanta 's FBI field division topped Los Angeles in reporting the most bank heists , with 350 for the 12 months ending September 30 , 2007 , according to the FBI , which annually names areas most prone to bank robberies .

The Los Angeles area was No. 2 with 338 heists , followed by Philadelphia with 316 . Just Thursday , two suspects overpowered a security guard at an Atlanta , Georgia , bank , took his gun , robbed the bank and fled with money in hand , police said . Eventually , police shot one of the suspects in an exchange of gunfire . Two more armed bank robberies took place in metro Atlanta Friday .

The FBI says violent crime is up across the nation , especially in major metro areas like Atlanta . So it 's no surprise Atlanta has become a prime target for bank robberies , FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett told CNN . Watch Hotlanta or Heistlanta ? ''

`` This goes hand in hand with those figures , '' Emmett said .

Atlanta 's rapid growth over the last decade has also been a factor . A recent Atlanta Business Chronicle article reported that metro Atlanta has 26 more banks than in all of North Carolina -- roughly one bank for every 3,500 people in the region . See photos of bank heists in metro Atlanta ''

`` We would attribute a lot of that -LSB- bank robberies -RSB- to the growth and the fact that the banking industry has matched that growth with an increase in bank branches throughout the area , '' Emmett said .

Atlanta 's rise in bank heists comes just as Los Angeles has aggressively countered once out-of-control bank robberies . Los Angeles has gone from more than 500 bank robberies in the mid-2000s to this year 's 338 , the FBI stats show .

According to the FBI , its Atlanta field division reported 350 bank robberies in the last year -- the most notorious of which were the `` Barbie Bandits '' and `` Grandpa Bandit '' robberies . The FBI says 122 of the heists were armed robberies , or robberies where a weapon was visibly used .

Emmett said many more of the robberies were what law enforcement officers classify as `` note jobs '' -- where a robber gestures as if he or she has a gun on them in a demand note handed over to the teller . Also factored into the total number of robberies were ATM heists and a record nine armored car robberies .

Those armored car robberies are particularly disturbing to Emmett . `` Anyone that would confront an armored car courier knowing that he 's already armed and in somewhat of a defensive posture , that mindset is very troubling for law enforcement , '' he said .

While Emmett said there is no `` typical '' bank robber , he said he has seen some trends , most notably that they are often people battling drug addictions . He also said bank robbers are often repeat offenders .

Two recent high-profile cases in Atlanta seem to confirm that . Two women dubbed the `` Barbie Bandits '' were arrested after working with a bank employee to rob a Bank of America in the Atlanta suburb of Acworth . They both later admitted to police to having drug addiction problems . Recently apprehended 69-year-old Bobby Joe Phillips , dubbed the `` Grandpa Bandit , '' is suspected to have robbed seven banks in Tennessee and the Atlanta area and had a criminal history .

Emmett says typically very little money is taken in a bank heist . Joe Brannen , president of the Georgia Bankers Association , agrees , saying `` the average is $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 . It 's not as big a payoff as most people think it is . ''

With the holidays in full swing , authorities are steeling themselves for a spate of bank robberies with robbers looking for quick holiday cash . `` I would make the assumption that a large part of it is the increased -LSB- financial -RSB- pressures this time of year , '' said Brannen .

The FBI advises banks to be extra vigilant this time of year and to keep a close eye on jittery individuals donning gloves , hats and sunglasses .

But Brannen says profiling people like that can be problematic .

`` We 've chosen not to go there . Here in Atlanta , lots of people wear head coverings for religious purposes . This is a free and open society , '' he said .

He said customers want to come into a bank unimpeded -- that 99.9 percent are just customers , not bank robbers . Brannen says banks do all they can to balance convenience for their customers and the bank 's need for security .

`` There is no good , magic solution . '' he says .

Emmett said as long as metro Atlanta continues to grow , so will the number of bank robberies .

`` This is something that is part of growth . We have more banks . We have more people . We 're a big city now . '' E-mail to a friend

CNN 's Rusty Dornin contributed to this report .

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Atlanta surpasses LA , Philadelphia as city with most bank heists

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FBI says it 's the result of rising violent crime and increased number of banks

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FBI : Expect more bank robberies around holidays

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Bank official says most robbers get away with just $ 2,000 to $ 3,000